From Anne Bradstreet's poem "Before the Birth of One of Her Children."

Anne Bradstreet is considered one of America's most important colonial poets. Born in England, she was one of many Puritans (a religious group who believed in strict moral and spiritual codes) who emigrated to North America in 1630. Despite having to endure a difficult life in the New World (a European term for North America and South America), Bradstreet still managed to write poetry. In fact, she achieved many important firsts. Along with being the first published poet in colonial America, she was also the first American woman poet. In addition, her collection of verse, The Tenth Muse (1650), was the first written in America. Her poem "Contemplations" (1645) was the first poem to...